Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I, Part 38

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1030

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I > Part 38

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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most powerful chief of the Chocktaws. It was built in 1854 and called Malmaison after the famous retreat of the Empress Joseph- ine near Paris. It is a stately colonial mansion, beautifully fur- nished in the French style, and has been the home of four genera- tions of Le Flores, being now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Ray, the latter a granddaughter of Col. Le Flore.

The Big Black river flows along the southeastern boundary of the county and there are numerous small creeks besides which afford it water facilities. The Southern railway crosses the center of the county from east to west, and connects Greenwood in Le- flore with Winona in Montgomery; the Yazoo & Mississippi Val- ley railway intersects the northwestern corner and the Illinois Central railway the southeastern section ; the last named road giv- ing it direct communication with Jackson. The timber of the county consists of oak, poplar, pine, gum, walnut, chestnut and cypress. Its general surface is somewhat rough with some quite hilly sections in the west and a number of level, fertile valleys. The soil on the hills is not so rich but is very productive on the creeks. The county raises cotton, corn, oats, wheat, field peas, peanuts, sorghum and potatoes and all kinds of vegetables and fruits. The live stock industry has already attained large proportions and is very profitable. Beds of "green sand marl" have been found near Vaiden and elsewhere in the county.

The following names are prominent in the early annals of the county : Col. Greenwood Le Flore, before mentioned, Judge Mar- maduke Kimbrough, the paternal grandfather, and the Hon. John C. Mckenzie the maternal grandfather of Hon. P. C. Kimbrough of West Point, Judge Cothran, Cap. John A. Binford, Benj. Ken- nedy, Col. G. F. Neil, John L. Irwin, Benj. Kilgore, James Liddell, S. F. Ayres, W. G. Herring, John McCaskill, Abraham Hardy, Daniel McEachern, John M. Maury, C. L. Hemingway and Dr. C. M. Vaiden; most of whom represented their county in the State Legislature and held many other positions of trust.

The twelfth census of the United States gives the following ag- ricultural statistics for the county: Total number of farms, 3,424; acres in farms, 312,698; acres improved, 128,561; total value of land, excepting buildings, $1,730,660; value of buildings, $527,980; value of live stock, $668,276; and value of products, $1,352,176. Manufacturing industries are as yet small, but the following fig- ures from the last census returns will prove interesting: Total number of establishments, 45; capital invested, $80,050; wages paid, $9,043 ; cost of materials, $16,232 ; and total value of products,

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$49,852. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in 1905 was $2,684,556 and in 1906, it was $3,048,094.50, which shows an increase of $363,538.50 during the year. The population for 1900 was as follows: Whites 9,125, colored 12,919, total population 22,- 116, increase over 1890, 3,343. The total population in 1906 was esti- mated at 25,000. A system of fine public roads is authorized and now (1906) under contract. The county as a whole is developing rapidly.

Carrollton, the county seat of Carroll County, is an incorporated post-town twenty-four miles south of Grenada, and thirteen miles by rail west of Winona. North Carrollton, one mile to the north on the Southern Railway is the railroad station for the town. It has telegraph, telephone, express and banking facilities, a large cottonseed oil mill, ginneries and a grist mill. There are also six churches, two high graded'schools, and one newspaper. The Bank of Carrollton was founded in 1890, and has a capital of $50,000. The Conservative is a Democratic-Conservative weekly, established in 1865, and owned and edited by I. L. Murphy.

The town was named for the home of Charles Carroll. The first police jury of the county of Carroll was held March 11, 1834, at the house of George W. Green, on the present site of the town. At a meeting of the police jurors in April, 1834, the county seat was located on the north half, of the east half, of the southwest quarter, of section eighteen, in township nineteen, north of range four, east, and given the name of Carrollton. Population in 1900, 540; the population in 1906 is estimated at 700. The town owns a fine electric light and water plant. From Carrollton and North Carrollton there is annually shipped over 9,000 bales of cotton. A fine Confederate monument, erected in 1905, stands in the N. W. corner of the court yard. It is over 30 feet in height and was erected by Carroll county under the auspices of P. F. Liddell Camp, No. 561, U. C. V., and H. D. Money Chapter U. D. C.

Carrollville, an old village in the southeastern part of Tisho- mingo county (now Prentiss county), on the old Tuscumbia and Pontotoc road. It was founded in 1834 and was a flourishing place during the 40's, when it had five dry goods stores, operated by the Robinson Brothers, Clayton & Walker, Robert Lowry, father of ex-Gov. Lowry; James Robinson, and T. B. Stubbs & Brother ; three saddlers shops, owned by W. H. H. Tison, Wil- liam Smith, and P. Langley ; two shoe shops by William Waldrow and John Outlaw ; two blacksmith shops by William Waldron and John Rogers; two tailoring establishments by ---- Moffit and Carpenter ; a tanyard, by Sam McCarley ; a mill and gin by Spright-

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ly Williams; and the following members of the medical profession, Drs. Burton, Booth, Scruggs, Long and Smythe. Its one church was used by all denominations, and also as a schoolhouse and a Masonic hall.

Among the earliest settlers of the old town "were Wylie Belsher, who kept the first tavern; Jack Thompson, Joe Galling, and the Holcombe Brothers, merchants; George Wilburn, the saloon-keep- er; Wm. Gates, the 'village blacksmith'. In 1836 R. B. Clayton took charge of the village tavern. In 1838 Guilford Stocks and A. I. Taylor, and in 1840 D. M. Allen and Robert Traylor settled near the village." (1) Just before the War, the M. & O. R. R. was built as far as Baldwyn, only two miles distant from Carrollville, and the business and population of the old town soon moved to the railroad.

(1) Dr. F. L. Riley's Extinct Towns and Villages of Miss., Pub. M. H. S., pp., 366-367.

Carson, a station in the western part of Covington county, on the Mississippi Central R. R., about 12 miles southwest of Wil- liamsburg, the county seat. It has a postoffice, several good stores and is prospering. The town has about 300 people.

Carson, Joseph, of the Tombigbee settlements, was one of the prominent men of the later Territorial period. He married a daughter of Abner Green of Adams county, and consequently had influential connections in the Natchez district. He was commis- sioned as an attorney-at-law in 1807, was a member of the Terri- torial council from 1809 to 1817, was attorney-general of the east- ern district for many years, a militia officer, in 1813 was colonel of the First Mississippi regiment, United States volunteers, on duty in the Alabama region. He forced the evacuation of the Spanish post on the Perdido river, April 27, 1813. In 1812 he was urged by his section as a candidate for congressional delegate.

Carthage, the capital of Leake county, is located at the geo- graphical center of the county on the Pearl river, 33 miles north- east of Canton, and 50 miles northeast of Jackson. It is an incor- porated post-town, and when first selected as the county seat in 1834, was known as Leakville. The name was changed to Car- thage on July 31 of that year. Kosciusko is the nearest railroad, express, telegraph and banking town, on the Illinois Central R. R. Carthage is located in a good farming and cotton growing sec- tion. Shipping facilities are afforded by the Pearl river, navigable for steamboats to this point. It has three churches-Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian, an academy, a Masonic lodge, and a

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Democratic weekly newspaper, the Carthaginian, established in 1872, of which L. M. Garrett is the present owner and editor. Population in 1900, 416.

Cartledge, a postoffice of Coahoma county, about 9 miles south- west of Friar's Point, the nearest banking town and county seat.

Carver, Eleazer, began the business of building cotton gins near the town of Washington, in 1807, when there were no labor-saving machines in the Territory for making any parts of the apparatus- no sawmills, forges or foundries. He built a small saw mill about 1810, the first known to him in the country. As his business in- creased, he established himself at Bridgewater, Mass., and contin- ued for many years in the manufacture, supplying gins very exten- sively to southwestern planters. One of his principal improve- ments was in the construction of the grate, to prevent it becoming clogged or choked by the lodging of the fibre in the open spaces. This was patented in November, 1838. (Wailes' Report).

Cary, a postvillage in the western part Sharkey county on Deer creek, and a station on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 7 miles by rail south of Rolling Fork, the county seat and nearest banking town. It has 4 churches, 2 academies, a money order postoffice and manufactures of cotton. Population in 1900, 101.

Cascilla, an incorporated post-town in the southeastern part of Tallahatchie county, about ten miles northwest of Grenada, which is the nearest railroad and banking town. It has a good high school. Population in 1900, 166.

Casket-Girls. Early in 1728 there arrived in the French colony of Louisiana a vessel containing a considerable number of young girls, who became known as the "filles a la casette," or the 'casket- girls," because, on leaving France, each had been provided by the company with a little trunk of clothes, linens, etc. They were taken in charge by the Ursuline nuns until they were provided with husbands. These girls were of good moral character and highly respectable, though poor. "Subsequently," says Gayarre, "it be- came a matter of importance in the colony to derive one's origin from them, rather than from those who had been sent from houses of correction." (See Women Colonists).

Caseyville, a postoffice in the northwestern part of Lincoln county, about 16 miles northwest of Brookhaven, the county seat.

Cash, a post-hamlet in the northern part of Scott county, about 16 miles north of Forest, the county seat and nearest railroad and banking own. It has a fine cotton gin, a steam gristmill; also a sawmill. The town is surrounded by a good farming country.

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Cassels, a postoffice of Amite county, established in 1905.

Castalian Springs, a summer resort of Holmes county, 3 miles from Durant railroad station. It has a postoffice, 2 churches, and mineral springs containing alum and sulphates of lime, magnesia, and potash. These springs were held in high esteem before the War, 1861-'65.

Caswell, a post-hamlet in the eastern part of Lafayette county, on Paskus creek, an affluent of the Tallahatchie river, and about 12 miles northeast of Oxford, the coutny seat.

Catahoula, a post-hamlet of Hancock county, on Hickory creek, and about 16 miles northweast of Bay St. Louis, the county seat. Population in 1900, 20.

Catchings, a post-hamlet in the extreme northern part of Sharkey county, about 15 miles north of Rolling Fork, the county seat.

Catchings, Thomas Clendinen, was born in Hinds county, Miss., Jan. 11, 1847. He was a student at the University of Mississippi, but in his sophomore year went to Oakland College, and while a junior in this college joined the Confederate army, and served through the war. In 1865 he began the study of law, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1866 at Vicksburg, which is still his home. He was elected to the State senate in 1875, but resigned in 1877, and was elected attorney-general, was reëlected in 1881, and re- signed Feb. 16, 1885. He was elected to Congress continuously from 1885 to 1901, that is, from the 49th to the 56th congressesses inclusive. He was a member of the Code Commission which com- pleted the code of 1906.

Catholic Church. (For early history see Missions, Early Cath- olic.) On April 11, 1788, a lot of land (200 arpents) was bought near the fort at Natchez from Stephen Minor, as the site of a church, the consideration being $2,000. The church erected was a two-story frame, over the spot now known as the center of Natchez. Another church or chapel, on Coles creek, was called Villa Gay- oso. All this property was left in the care of Joseph Vidal at the evacuation. Subsequently Father Lennan visited Natchez from Point Coupee. In 1799 Bishop Carroll received a petition for a priest from Col. Daniel Clark, Capt. William Vousdan, William Scott, Peter Walker, Peter Bryan Bruin and Antonio Gras, a salary of $800 being promised. But the post was not filled, and in 1801, when Colonel Vousdan offered home and board for a priest, few Catholics were left. On account of defects in the title the church

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was compelled to pay a claimant of the land $500 to save the church and twenty feet around it, and the cemetery was finally lost.

The first legislature of the State, February, 1818, passed an act, after considerable discussion, "to incorporate the president and trustees of the Roman Catholic society of Christians in the city of Natchez and its vicinity." In 1819 a Kentucky priest arrived. Nearly the whole State was included in the original diocese of Baltimore, but it was made a Vicariate Apostolic and placed under the Bishop of New Orleans in 1825. Then an effort was made to meet to some extent the spiritual wants of the faithful, but in 1833 the church was without a priest, and until a diocese was erected, so continued. J. H. Ingraham wrote in 1835: "Contrary to the prevalent opinion at the north, Roman Catholic influence in this State is entirely unknown. Formerly there was a Romish church in Natchez, ill-endowed and seldom supplied with an offici- ating priest. This was accidently destroyed by fire a year or two since; and there is now no church of that denomination in the State, and hardly a sufficient number of Catholics to organize one." (The Southwest, by a Yankee). In 1839 Rev. John Tyman, C. M., did mission work at Natchez, and the same year an effort was made to rebuild the church.

In March, 1841, Bishop J. J. Chanche, the first Natchez bishop, arrived, and the diocese covering the State, began with two priests, but not a single church. The new bishop went to work with great zeal and energy, and in 1842 laid the cornerstone of the cathedral at the corner of Main and Union streets, Natchez, dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. During the same year an academy was opened under his auspices. Biloxi and Pass Christian were given resident priests, and chuches were dedicated at both places in 1844. A church in honor of St. Peter was dedicated in Jackson August 15, 1847. In 1848 a colony of Sisters of Charity arrived in Natchez and opened an orphan asylum and school.

Bishop Chanche, who had labored earnestly with the resources at his command, and could show only five priests and six poor churches, went to Europe for aid. He returned in 1849 with re- cruits, and the new impulse was soon visible. Churches were dedicated at Bay St. Louis and Vicksburg the same year, and the building of another commenced at Port Gibson.

During the year 1851 Bishop Chanche attended the council at Baltimore, where he was made promoter, but his useful life soon came to a close. He died of cholera at Frederick City, July 22, 1852, and was buried at Baltimore.

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The Rt. Rev. James Oliver Van DeVelde, of Chicago, was ap- pointed the successor of Bishop Chanche, and arrived at Natchez in 1853. The diocese was sorely afflicted. The school, church and priest's house at Jackson had burned. Yellow fever prevailed, and several priests and Sisters of Mercy had fallen victims to the scourge. The new Bishop entered on his duties with zeal and labored earnestly for his people, but his administration was brief. He died of yellow fever in 1855.

Rev. Wm. Henry Elder, of Baltimore, was then selected by the Pope as Bishop of Natchez. Bishop Elder convened the first Synod of Natchez, which was attended by twelve priests on April 15, 1858, and soon after, churches were dedicated at Pascagoula and Canton. Toward the close of the year he completed his Cathe- dral. A convent was opened by the Sisters of Mercy at Vicksburg in 1860.

When the war 1861-5 came the priests and Sisters of Mercy responded to the call for service in the armies and hospitals, where they rendered noble service.

Bishop Elder labored zealously during the war and the years that followed. In 1880 he was given a larger field at Cincinnati, and was succeeded here by Bishop F. Janssens, who is known for his splendid efforts for education. After his promotion to the archbishopric of New Orleans he was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Heslin, D. D.

Cat Island. This little island which lies a few miles out in the sound off Mississippi City, is said to have received its name from the fact that d'Iberville and his companions, during a short stay on the island in 1699, killed several wild cats here. (His. Coll. of Louisiana and Florida, French, p. 54.)

A horrible incident occurred on the island in 1754, shortly before the French surrendered all their claim to Mississippi soil. They were accustomed to maintain a small garrison on the island at this time. The French commander, Duroux, was cruel and tyrannical, and guilty of gross inhumanity in the treatment of his men. They finally killed him, fled to the mainland and sought to escape to the English settlements. They were captured, however, by the Choc- taws in the interest of the French and taken to New Orleans. Here some of the mutineers were broken on the wheel, and one was placed alive in a coffin, and his body then sawed in two. Governor Kerlerec even punished the famous hunter and courier Baudrot, a private citizen, living at the time on the island, who had aided the mutineers under compulsion. He too was broken on

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the wheel and his body cast into the river, as unworthy of sepul- ture.

Cato, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Rankin county, on Campbells creek, about 16 miles south, southeast of Brandon, the county seat. It has a money order postoffice, 2 churches, a high school and a lumber-mill. It is in a pine forest region. Popula- tion in 1900, 157. The town is growing rapidly and now business blocks and residences are constantly being added. The popula- tion in 1906 was estimated at 275.

Cayce, a post-hamlet in the northern part of Marshall county, about 16 miles northwest of Holly Springs. Population in 1900, 36.

Cayuga, a post-hamlet in the western part of Hinds county, about 20 miles southwest of Raymond, the county seat. Utica railroad station on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R., 7 miles to the southeast, is the nearest railroad and banking town. It has two churches. Population in 1900, 70.

Cecil, a postoffice of Attala county.

Cedar Bluff, an incorporated post-town in the southern part of Clay county, 12 miles west of West Point, the nearest banking town. It is a station on the Southern Railway, and is situated in a fine agricultural region and stock country. It has two churches, and a good school. Population in 1900, 193.

Cedars, a hamlet of Warren county on the Mississippi river, about 8 miles south of Vicksburg. The postoffice was discontin- ued here in 1905, and mail now goes to Glass.

Cedarview, a post-hamlet in the eastern part of De Soto county, about 12 miles northeast of Hernando, the county seat and nearest banking town. It has a money order postoffice.

Cement Materials. Geologist Hilgard wrote in 1860 that the dark-colored slaty rock which occurs near Eastport and through- out the small area of the Carboniferous formation in Mississippi, "possesses strongly hydraulic properties; i. e., it does not slake after burning, like common limestone, but if pulverized and then wetted, will harden under water, like Portland or Roman cement. This property is imparted to the limestone by the clayey impuri- ties which it contains, and in imitation of this natural mixture, hydraulic cement is now sometimes prepared, either by treating in the same manner as the rock naturally occurring, an intimate mixture of clay and lime, artificially prepared, or by mixing with quick-lime certain substances naturally occurring (such as the puzzolana of Italy) in a finely ground condition. These artificial

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cements, however, are rarely equal to those prepared from good natural hydraulic limestone." The manufacture of cement began in England in 1824, and the name Portland was given it because of the resemblance of the product in color to the Portland lime- stone used in building. It is produced by burning a finely ground mixture consisting essentially of lime, silica, alumina and iron oxide, in certain and definite proportions. Usually the combina- tion is made by mixing limestone or marl with clay or shale, pro- ducing a clinker which, when finely ground, is the cement. The ingredients are a subject of constant chemical test, and the burn- ing must be at a temperature near 3,000 degrees, in kilns of special construction. The industry is a very expensive one to establish, and demands as a prerequisite easy access to the natural ma -. terials. The dark limestone mentioned by Hilgard is well adapted for use as cement materials, but the most promising localities of these limestones have no adequate transportation facilities. But the immense deposits of chalky limestone of the Selma forma- tion, found in the Tombigbee river district, are admirable material for the manufacture of cement and is easily available. The Selma chalk is 930 feet thick where pierced by a well at Livingston, and 200 feet thick at Starkville, but thins out rapidly northward and disappears in Tennessee. At Demopolis the Alabama Portland cement company uses the chalk, taken from open quarries near the mill, mixed with a little clay also close at hand.

The Vicksburg limestone, a narrow belt of which crosses the State from Waynesboro to near Vicksburg in a low ridge, out- cropping sharply on the north side, "may be everywhere regarded as a possible source of Portland Cement material." (Cement Ma- terials and Industry of the U. S. Geological Survey bulletin, No. 243.)

Census. The twelfth census of the United States for the year 1900, yields a mass of valuable information relating to the State of Mississippi. An analysis of the returns as therein set forth discloses the following statistical data :

The total area of Mississippi is 46,340 square miles. It ranks 29th in size among the several States and Territories of the Un- ion. The density of its population is 33.5, obtained by dividing the population by the total land area in square miles.

The total population is 1,551,270, which is an increase of 261,670 in ten years, or 20.3 per cent. The total white population is 641,- 200, or 41.3 per cent of the total and an increase of 17.7 per cent over 1890. The total negro population is 907,630, an increase of

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22.2 per cent over 1890 and 58.5 per cent of the total population. There are 2,203 Indians and 237 Mongolians in the State. There are 326,710 white males and 314,490 white females; 453,384 negro males and 454,246 negro females. The total native born popula- tion is 1,543,289, foreign born 7,981, only 0.5 per cent being for- eign born. South Carolina is the only State which shows a smaller foreign population.

Of the 75 counties included in the census, all but three, Benton, Grenada and Issaquena, have increased in population during the decade. Hinds county, with a gain of 13,298, shows the largest absolute increase, and Perry county, with an increase of 8,188, or 201.2 per cent, has the largest percentage of increase.

' Of the 240 incorporated places there are 52 with a population in excess of 1,000, of which 30 have a population in excess of 2,000, and 8 in excess of 5,000.

The five largest cities in 1900 are shown to be Vicksburg, pop. 14,834; Meridian, pop. 14,050; Natchez, pop. 12,210; Jackson, pop. 7,816 ; Greenville, pop. 7,642.

The total number of farms in the State is 220,803; number of acres in farms 18,240,736; acres improved 7,594,428; unimproved 10,646,308 ; per cent improved 41.6; value of live stock $42,657,- 222; total value of all farm property $204,221,027; total value of land, and improvements with buildings $152,007,000; implements and machinery $9,556,805; farm products (1899) $102,492,283.

61.5 per cent of the total acreage of the State is in farms. The number of farms in 1900 is six times as many as in 1850 and 53 per cent greater than in 1890. The total acreage has gained 73 per cent since 1850. The gain in the total value of farm property since 1890 is 22 per cent. The cotton plantations constitute 58.8 per cent of the total farm area and 61.5 per cent of the total value of farm property.

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. I, Part 38

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 1030

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 1030